Workers who operate the Canadian parts of the lock system west of Montreal, which lets big freighters in and out of the Great Lakes, put up picket lines Sunday. Their employer, the non-profit St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., said the sides are far apart on wages; their union, Unifor, said only that it’s seeking a “fair agreement.” No ships are stuck inside the system, thanks to 72 hours of advance notice, but over 100 vessels are held up outside it, the company said. (The Logic)

Talking point: Freight on the seaway is mainly bulk exports, particularly grain and iron ore. Worth about $16.7 billion altogether in 2022, seaway traffic is much less valuable than the roughly $300 billion worth of goods that move through the Port of Vancouver each year. The strike will nevertheless hurt, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business warned. It called for the seaway to be reopened and supply-chain workers to be deemed essential, limiting work stoppages.